Asante Samuel

DeSean Jackson is quietly having his finest season in the NFL. The breathtaking plays have been few and far between, but that hasn't necessarily been the fault of the Pro Bowl wide receiver. The Eagles offense has sputtered for most of the first six games, partly because of a banged-up offensive line, mostly because of Michael Vick and the unit's 17 turnovers, and entirely because there hasn't been cohesion. Jackson, though, said the offense is poised to turn things around Sunday when the Eagles host the 6-0 Atlanta Falcons.

First, the news or lack thereof: The Eagles and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie have yet to talk contract extension. The Eagles in the past used November to extend their young talent. Whether or not it was a shift from Joe Banner's to Howie Roseman's method of handling contract negotiations, a new deal hasn't been handed out during the regular season since 2009. For that reason and others - the amount of cash Roseman unloaded in extensions during the offseason; the uncertainty over Rodgers-Cromartie's value - it is unlikely that there will be an agreement before the season ends.

Asante Samuel said that he expects to be greeted warmly when he returns to Lincoln Financial Field as a member of the Falcons on Sunday. "They better cheer for me," Samuel said to reporters in Atlanta. "They're going to cheer for me, or we're going to have a problem right there in Lincoln Financial [Field]. All you all fans, all I did for you all, you all better cheer for me. Deuce here. Got nothing but love for you all. " Samuel returns with the undefeated Falcons. It was pointed out to the cornerback during a four-minute interview the struggles the 3-3 Eagles have had on defense this season.

ASANTE SAMUEL didn't want to talk to Philadelphia reporters on a conference call this week, but he seems unlikely to be silent Sunday, when Samuel and the unbeaten Atlanta Falcons visit Lincoln Financial Field. "He'll do more talking with the receivers," said Eagles quarterback Michael Vick. "I don't get involved in that. " Vick said of Samuel, who made three Pro Bowls and intercepted 23 passes as an Eagle from 2008-2011, "Asante's a great player. He's a savvy player and he knows how to play the game.

FORMER EAGLES cornerback Asante Samuel likes to flap his gums. So it was a bit of a surprise when he declined to do a conference call with the Philly media Monday. Each week before games, Philly-area reporters ask to chat with a player from the upcoming opponent. This week, that's the Falcons, the team Samuel was traded to in April. For some reason, he didn't want to talk. Hey, it's not like Samuel hasn't mentioned the Eagles before. Just last week, he took a shot at Andy Reid on Twitter after the Eagles fired defensive coordinator Juan Castillo.

The Pittsburgh Steelers won't just be getting a couple of key players back from injury Sunday. They'll be getting their defensive mystique back. People are intimidated by safety Troy Polamalu, despite that cuddly persona he has created for endorsements. People are downright afraid of linebacker James Harrison, who spends too much time in commissioner Roger Goodell's office to do any endorsements. The Steelers have other good defensive players, but Polamalu's ferocity and Harrison's borderline personality disorder are at the heart of the team's success.

PEOPLE ARE asked to identify the best group on the Eagles' defense and they say it is the pass rushers. They are asked to point out the area of the greatest improvement and they say it is the linebackers. Through two games, it is hard to argue with either point, or with the great and crashing and crunching success of the front seven. Meanwhile, the cornerbacks have quietly gone about the business of putting handcuffs on opposing wide receivers. And in this day, in this league so stricken by the scourge of passaholism, this might be the most important trend.

CLEVELAND - For Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the nightmare that was the 2011 season is behind him. No longer is he a square peg being pounded into a round hole. The 6-2, 182-pound gazelle is back on the outside where he belongs, where he should have been all along. "It's a good feeling to get your hands on two balls and then go out there on the last drive and get a stop," the Eagles cornerback said Sunday after picking off two passes and helping his team overcome five turnovers in a 17-16 win over the Browns.

ASANTE SAMUEL says he doesn't care if he starts at cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons. His stance isn't much different from Week 1 last year in Philadelphia after the Eagles acquired Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Even though he started all 14 of his games, Samuel was initially the odd man out. By October, with Philadelphia off to a poor start, he complained about management's desire to reduce his role. With the Falcons, the label of being a starting cornerback is somewhat less relevant.

  Week 1, Sept. 9 at CLEVELAND BROWNS, 1 p.m. (Fox29) The opener is teed up for the Eagles. Brandon Weeden will be making his first career start at quarterback.   Week 2, Sept. 16 vs. BALTIMORE RAVENS, 1 p.m. (CBS3) The Ravens will be a potential barometer of the Eagles' prospects. Michael Vick will see it all against one of the best defenses in the NFL over the last decade.   Week 3, Sept. 23 at ARIZONA CARDINALS, 4:05 p.m. (Fox29) Who would have thought that when the Eagles traded Kevin Kolb to the Cardinals last July that he wouldn't be the starting quarterback the next two times the teams met?